Thoughts and Fiction

Thoughts and Fiction

  • Ultimate Zonai Theory Part 3

    The Zonai of the Depths Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 In part 2, a rough outline of Zonai history was sketched. They originated in the Depths and built the various fire-themed temples of Skyward Sword in the natural Depths-Surface trade hub of Eldin Volcano/ Death Mountain. They then experienced a societal rupture (probably involving…

  • The Penguin Mid-Season Discussion

    The Penguin episode 5 is out, and I want to talk about it: both the episode and the show more generally. Spoilers Ahead (though I’ll try to keep them light) The Penguin episode 5, in summary, is very good. It’s not the best episode and had, I thought, some minor pacing issues. Oz/Penguin’s confrontation with…

  • What will be new in Mario Kart 9 on Switch 2?

    It’s time to speculate widely! With the Switch 2 likely to launch in 2025, a new Mario Kart is probably around the corner. It’s been ten years since the release of Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U, which is a lot of potential development time. So, my expectations are unreasonably high! I don’t think…

  • Batman’s Robin Problem

    What should DC do with Tim Drake? The Bat Family is big. It’s great, it’s a natural continuation of Batman’s story, but it’s big. Arguably too big. Even excluding the more superfluous vigilantes, the “core” family has at least eight members: Batman, three different Batgirls and four different Robins (now with various hero identities). That’s…

  • Ultimate Zonai Theory Part 2

    Origins, habitation and population movements. Part 1 Part 3 In part 1, it was argued that the Zonai King Rauru, in the flashbacks of Tears of the Kingdom (TotK), founded Hyrule between the events of Skyward Sword and The Minish Cap. There’s nothing particularly out there or groundbreaking about this conclusion, but the timeline was…

  • Switch 2 Launch Titles

    What games will Switch 2 have at launch? The Switch 2 rumours are heating up. Some leaked images have been released, and fans are speculating that it could be announced this month! In my wildest dreams it will be capable of turning into a VR headset, but I realise this is unlikely (maybe Switch 3).…

  • Ultimate Zonai Theory Part 1

    Introduction and Timeline Placement Part 2 Tears of the Kingdom (TotK) has thrown a spanner into the Zelda theory community. The Zonai, introduced in that game, are an entirely new element of the Zelda timeline, which complicates many old theories and established narrative details. The term Zonai was first used during Breath of the Wild…

  • Mario Timeline: New Super Mario Bros.

    Over a series of posts, I have slowly and somewhat unintentionally begun to build my own Mario Timeline. But for a lot of Mario games (especially the side-scrollers), creating a timeline is more a practice in storytelling, world-building, and wild speculation than theorising. Many of the games don’t have much of a story to work…

  • Freedom! (update)

    I’m free! I’ve handed in my dissertation, which means my MA is basically done (my dissertation’s not great, but it is done and that’s the main thing). I’ve done almost nothing but work the last couple of months but now, for the first time in a long time, I have free time. There are so…

  • Back Soon

    No post this week either (sniff). But my dissertation will be done and handed in very soon. And then I’ll be back to posting every monday.

  • Dissertation Woes

    Alas, I’ve no post to make this week. I do have a load of ideas and topics that I want to talk about, but I’m now in a Dissertation writing crunch period which is going… well it’s going. Still, in about a week and a half I’ll be done with my Dissertation and done with…

  • Return of the Deku Scrubs (mini post)

    Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom looks awesome. I’m excited, I can’t wait to play it, and I can’t believe I haven’t talked about it yet. Alas, I’m in the middle of writing my MA dissertation, so this can only be a brief comment. I’ll probably make another, more substantial post about it in September…

  • Animated Batman (Shows) Return

    A new animated Batman show, The Caped Crusader, was released a few days ago, and while I’ve only had the chance to see the first episode (life and university work are getting in the way again), I do want to talk about it—very briefly—because I have a lot of thoughts! Though, mostly, I’m just happy…

  • Nintendo Switch: The Ultimate Zelda Console

    The Wii U was the ultimate Zelda console. Thanks chiefly to the eShop/Virtual Console, it could play an enormous library of Zelda games. It also had HD remasters of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess and the spinoff Hyrule Warriors. And whilst Breath of the Wild is a Switch game (the launch title, no less), it…

  • The Acolyte Finale

    Spoiler Alert for Star Wars: The Acolyte The final episode of The Acolyte was released last week and was the definite high point of the series. My previous critiques of the show do, I think, still stand. It still has some creaky dialogue and awkward plotting. Erasing Mae’s memory, for instance, so that she can’t…